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Lawmakers demanded more details Thursday about how the New Mexico Spaceport Authority plans to succeed now that the nearly quarter-billion-dollar Spaceport America stands empty and commercial fights by anchor tenant Virgin Galactic have been delayed indefinitely. The delay is expected to cost the state $1.7 million a year in lost user fees.

State data show that since 2009 Texas manufacturers have reported at least 19 other unauthorized releases of methyl mercaptan, the lethal chemical that killed four last weekend at a Port Arthur DuPont plant.

As a Florida state senator three years ago, John Thrasher was instrumental in blocking legislation that would have allowed guns on campus in some cases, calling it "beyond personal." A gunman wounded three people on the Florida State University campus Thursday.

Casino operators said they are open to a program that would allow customers to set their own limits on how much money they were willing to lose that day. But they oppose rewarding gamblers who adhere to their limits by providing them with extra free play at a later date.

State law provides for a three-year prison sentence and $6,000 fine against those who harm law enforcement officials. But those convicted of assaulting nurses, doctors, firefighters and emergency medical technicians get two-year sentences and $4,000 fines.

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